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LORRAINE BRACCO, REPS. JOHN DINGELL AND CAROLYN MALONEY RELEASE ALARMING REPORT ON CHANGING TRENDS FOR WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

Jan 24, 2002

Press Release

Washington, D.C. - At a news conference this morning, Representatives John D. Dingell (D-MI) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) released an alarming new report on women in the workforce, which demonstrated that the glass ceiling has actually hardened, rather than shattered, since 1995 for women in management positions. Lorraine Bracco, star of HBO's The Sopranos, joined Dingell and Maloney in publicly releasing the report, which is the first in a continuing series of federally funded studies examining the status of women and the glass ceiling.

"This startling new data shows that in seven of the ten industries studied, the wage gap between male and female managers widened between 1995 and 2000," said Dingell. "It's compelling evidence that the glass ceiling remains a powerful obstacle to women in the workforce, and it suggests things may be getting worse, not better."

"Historic advances for women in the workplace have eroded in the last five years, according to this report," said Maloney. "Gains in pay equity and equality in promotions have stalled and even declined for women in management. This is bad news for women and it's definitely bad news for the majority of families in America that rely heavily on a mother's income."

The Dingell-Maloney report: "A New Look through the Glass Ceiling: Where are the Women?" is based on General Accounting Office data. It assesses the status of women in ten selected industries: Communications, Public Administration, Business and Repair Services, Entertainment and Recreation Services, Other Professional Services, Educational Services, Retail Trade, Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, Hospitals and Medical Services, and Professional Medical Services.

The report demonstrates that women are under-represented in senior management positions in virtually every professional field. And although women have made steady improvements in the workplace as a whole, earning 76 cents for every dollar that a man takes home, the data clearly show that progress is stalled for women in management positions. In short, the glass ceiling has hardened, rather than shattered, since 1995.

"True parity in the workplace remains a distant promise rather than a coming reality," added Maloney. "With only half of the industries we surveyed employing women managers in the same proportion as women in the industry's overall workforce, it's obvious we can do better for women and families. We need to do better."

The release of the Dingell-Maloney report follows on the heels of several studies released throughout 2001 on women in the broadcasting industry, the legal profession and the sciences. All of these reports and the Dingell-Maloney report are available on the Internet at: www.equality2020.org